Cold
by Riddlestyx
Summary: Her name is Lor-El. She is not Supergirl. She is not an American Sweetheart. She is a Kryptonian. She is a Titan. And she has a secret that will send shockwaves across the Universe. OC-centric, better than it sounds. AU from 'Epilogue' and Batman Beyond.
1. Frozen

Hey y'all, wassup? Yeah, I came up with this a couple of months ago, but I am just now getting it written. I don't have a whole lot to say, just that I hope you'll enjoy this and keep with the story, don't just leave it at the first chapter. I own nothing; all rights go to DC comics.

P.S, this is based _very_ loosely on one of the many versions of Supergirl.

* * *

It was dark. I was awake, but I could not move or open my eyes. All I could do was listen to people speaking around me.

"The kryptonite… it's just like metamorphic rock! Imagine what they could all do, I mean, green is weak, so what if blue is-"

"Don't jump to conclusions, it may look different, but they could all be the same."

The voices faded out again.

* * *

"We were able to find a compatible liver, prep her for surgery."

"Get some kryptonite, or else we'll never cut through her skin."

"She'll need a lot, from the blood samples we got; she's built up a tolerance, being surrounded by it for so long."

The voices faded out again. This was getting annoying. Where am I? Am I in a hospital? What is kryptonite, and what would that have to do with surgery?

* * *

I opened my eyes. There were fluorescent lights above me. Ridiculously thin white sheets that never keep anyone warm. Stiff feeling pillow. Soft mattress. Smell of antiseptic and plastic. The beeping of the machines. Yes, I was in a hospital.

I sat up. My body was stiff and a little sore. Then I remembered the voices of the people (they must have been doctors) that I had heard. They had said to prep me for surgery. I pulled up the irritating open back dress and stared at my stomach, which was bandaged.

It was over. I had battled cirrhosis for two years, and now it was over. I had gotten the transplant. I started to sob. I was not going to cry, I had no reason to. All I could do was sob in shock.

Once I had calmed down a little bit, I took a good look around the room. It was…strange. It looked old fashioned, the television looked like the kind of thing that hadn't been used on Krypton in well over a thousand years. Then it hit me. Perhaps I wasn't on Krypton anymore! Maybe the council finally saw that Braniac was lying, that the planet was in danger, and we were on another planet, like Argo. I glanced at the monitors next to me, which seemed louder than normal. I frowned, this technology was ancient, Argo would not use this.

_No, because this is not Argo,_ said a man's voice. I looked to the door, expecting to see someone there. However, the door was closed.

I laughed nervously. Great. I was hearing voices in my head.

_No, you are not._

_I may believe that if you were not talking to me,_ I mentally retorted. No reply.

I also stopped to wonder where my family was. I would have thought at least dad or grandfather would have been there. At least one of them. Mom would be taking care of the baby. Of course, grandfather would be busy with the council or arguing with dad. Dad could be working. No, they would have all come. Maybe they stepped out to get something to eat.

I heard people talking outside the room, and I went up against the door to hear better.

"Where did you find her." Asked a man, sounding a little uncertain.

"We found her in the Pacific Ocean, she was found by a team of marine biologists. She had been cryogenically frozen, and the craft she was found had been covered in the kryptonite I showed you, but she was still alive." Another man explained.

"Why weren't we told about her before?" Yet another man asked. His voice was deep and sounded almost angry, but not quite.

"Well, we weren't sure how long she would survive." The second man continued.

"Because of the kryptonite?" asked a woman with a deep alto voice.

"No, we found that she was in the final stages of cirrhosis. We had been scrambling to find a liver to replace her own. Luckily, one of our scientists volunteered to be a live donor when he found his was compatible." the second continued. "Nobody has spoken to her, but she has floated in and out of consciousness."

"What? You mean to say you have some teenage girl in there and she has no idea that Krytpon is-"a fourth man stopped when it sounded as if he had been slapped. His voice automatically made me think of a teenager, it sounded younger and less serious than the others.

"Flash, be quiet." Said a man's slow, deep voice.

I jumped away from the door in surprise. It was the voice I had heard in my head!

"She has been awake for nearly 15 minutes, and she is listening to us right now." He continued. "She understands that the surgery has been preformed, but she does not understand what is happening, or where her family is."

Everyone was silent. What was going on? I sat down on the bed. How had he been in my mind?

_I am telepathic. My name is J'onn J'onzz, also known as the Martian Manhunter. _J'onn explained in my mind. _I am not a native to this planet, like you. I am going to come into your room now, please remain calm. _

I looked at the door. But J'onn did not use the door. He walked through the wall and I was given a good look at him. He was green, bald and had orange eyes. He wore a long blue cape, shorts, and boots. He wore a red belt, which connected to straps on his chest that formed an X.

I stood up anxiously. He held out his hand to me. I shook it.

"What is your name?" J'onn asked.

"Lor-El." I whispered.

"How old are you?"

"17."

"Lor-El, you may want to sit down." He said gently.

I did.

"Lor-El, do you know what had been happening when you were frozen on Krypton?"

"There-there was evidence that the core had become unstable. It-it could destroy us all."

"Were you frozen because of your cirrhosis?"

"Yes. I had been moved down on the donor list. I would not have made it."

"Lor-El… the core _was_ unstable, but the council on Krypton did not believe it."

"No…"

"You are one of only five survivors from Krypton and Argo."

"No…"

"I'm sorry."

"No-no it cannot be!" I screamed, rising from the bed. I walked to the wall, slamming my hand against the wood. My hand went right through the wall. I stared at the hole I had created, slowly pulling my hand back through the hole I had created. I stared at my hand, horrified.

"Lor-El… you are on earth now. Krypton has been gone for 28 years, and you have been on earth for the same amount of time. You were found in the ocean a couple of weeks ago, your capsule covered with Kryptonite, stone from Krypton. Earth's sun is yellow, not red, and the radiation it emits has given you powers." J'onn explained gently.

"What do you mean?" I asked hoarsely.

"You see things more clearly; you hear things that most humans cannot. You have super strength, speed, sight, and hearing. You have many more powers, but you will learn how to control them soon enough." J'onn put a hand on my shoulder.

"But what will I do now? This is not my world. My family, my friends, everyone I ever knew, every_thing_ I ever knew… all gone." I said, aware of the tears running down my face.

At that moment, I knew there was nothing I _could_ do. At that moment, my heart froze.

* * *

O.K, what do you think? This is my second attempt at non-crossover, but I know what I'm doing this time, I'm afraid I pulled the other one out of my butt and didn't think ahead. Also, you may have notice how Lor-El is using really proper English, but anyone who has seen the first few episodes of Superman and heard how Kryptonian's talk, you'll understand. Please review!


	2. Teach Me

Hey, I'm back! Sorry if anyone has been waiting. I briefly researched cirrhosis, and I may mention some of the symptoms, and skim over others. Please keep reading and please enjoy. I changed the category, so it is now a crossover fic, because the Teen Titans will make appearances. I own nothing.

* * *

I had finally stopped crying. J'onn had telepathically told the others outside of my room to go away, which I was grateful for. He had sat with me, waiting until I had composed myself.

"You said you were not from Earth." I said, indicating for him to explain.

"I am from Mars, originally, and I am the last of my kind." J'onn said sadly.

I was surprised. I had learned in school that Mars was a dead planet, like most in this star system, excluding Earth. Not that I could be considered an expert on other planets, but I was a bit of an oddball, like my grandfather.

"Yes, well, I had learned in school that Krypton were shut off from other planets." J'onn pointed out, reading my mind.

I snorted lightly. Yes, we were Kryptonians, terrified of ever wandering far from home, save Argo, when we colonized it.

"Ah, so it never did change." J'onn continued, sounding interested.

"Hardly, but we had opened communication to other planets a few years ago-" I broke off, wincing. Thirty years ago was more like it.

"If you don't wish to discuss it, you don't have to." J'onn said gently.

"How long have you been on Earth?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

"Three years."

"Can you tell me about it?"

"It would take weeks to truly explain it, but, if you allow me, I can use my telepathy to explain some of it to you." he cautiously reached towards my face, and when I did not move back, he touched my forehead with his fingertips.

It was one of the strangest experiences of my life. I was seeing and experiencing Earth, but I was still in the ridiculous nightgown and struggling to not slide off the too-soft bed. I saw various holidays being celebrated, saw their technology, which was rather primitive compared to Krypton, but I did not care. I learned their months, their days, how almost every day was significant to someone or something. My birthday, on Earth, was June 9th. I saw the planets the Martian Manhunter had seen, the countries, the continents, their people. I recognized some of the planets, and there were others I did not. I found their measurements, for height, length, weight, fluids, and I found that I was of average size here on Earth, standing at 5 feet and 6 inches tall. I found the wars this planet fought to be ridiculous, over minor things such as ethnicity, culture, or religion. Bizarrely enough, the human race bred like rabbits, and the planets population was thriving, despite the fact that they were constantly finding new ways to kill one another. It was not primitive here, but it was far behind Krypton, technologically speaking. I could deal with that, I had been the punchline on many jokes for being 'technology retardant'. I knew the names of technology here; cell phones, laptops, beepers, video games. Many of them seemed to have no real use other than for entertainment.

Then he showed me the heroes. Superheroes. Aliens, metahumans, magic users, humans, and other being who tried to help any who would let them, protecting the common man. They were from different lands, times, planets, and backgrounds and they were all brought together by the same cause, forming societies such as the Justice League and the Teen Titans. I saw Superman, the other Kryptonian, his city of Metropolis, his battles with Darkseid, Brainiac, and Lex Luthor (although Superman seemed to have absolutely no fighting skills). I also saw his aversion to kryptonite, rock from Krypton, which explained what I had heard before the surgery. I saw Batman (who was a brilliant martial artist), and the forbidding Gotham city, plagued by sociopaths and criminals. The warm, energetic Flash, and Central City, where all of its citizens seemed to love him, and he was just as concerned for all of them. Wonder Woman, the Amazon princess of Themiscira, populated by immortal women, banished for having brought men onto the island. Hawkgirl, the Thanagarian who had been exiled by her own people for stopping their attempt to use Earth as a trap for the Gordanians, which would destroy Earth. Despite saving them, she has become an outcast among Earth's people, and there is lingering distrust and resentment felt towards her. The Green Lantern, John Stewart, the former 'marine.' I also saw J'onn, the Martian Manhunter, how he had only recently begun to feel truly at home on Earth, even taking a human wife. They were the founding members of the Justice League, which, after Thanagar attempted to conquer and destroy the planet, had grown to become a small army. Cadmus, the organization who had been taking care of me, had been created to combat the League, should they turn against Earth, and the Justice League eventually realized this and 'came down to Earth,' figuratively and literally. I saw the Titans, teenage heroes, some of whom were proteges to League members, although they worked separately, and the Teen Titans were more public, being seen at the local 'pizza parlor.' I was given brief glimpses of dozens of other heroes, of all ages and affiliations. I few names ran through my mind; Green Arrow, Supergirl, Black Canary, Question, Static, Gear, Robin.

J'onn pulled his hand away from my forehead. I felt dizzy and tired. I glanced at the clock, because now I knew what it meant. It was 3:45, and it had been over an hour since J'onn had put his hand my on my forehead.

"You should rest. You are still tired." J'onn said patiently, briefly resting a hand on my shoulder.

I nodded, keeping my face totally blank. I wanted to stay asleep forever, oblivious to everything about this world.

"You may need to stay here for a few more days, to recover from your surgery."

I nodded again.

J'onn stood up and drifted back through the wall, leaving me to curl up under the sheets and cry myself into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

_Several days later_

I sat in one of the comfortable seats of the Javelin, watching as we sped past the clouds outside, trying to ignore the sounds. On my lap was a metal box, which had been found in a compartment of my ship. I had yet to open it.

Dr. Hamilton (the second speaker), whom I thought had been quite nice, despite being obviously uncomfortable around me, had deemed me fit to leave the medical ward of Cadmus headquarters. The Justice League had opted to take custody of me, as they were the only one's with enough knowledge of Kryptonians to teach me how to use my powers.

The powers that I had been told of were overwhelming. Apparently, due to Earth's yellow sun, I would gain super strength, super speed, super hearing, super sight, X-Ray vision, heat vision, flight, invulnerability, and ice breath. I was also beginning to wonder if I needed to eat, because I had barely eaten anything since I woke up from my surgery, not that I would know what to eat even if I did, and I wasn't experiencing hunger pain. I almost considered asking Superman, but there was no point in making him any more uncomfortable.

The 'core' Justice League members had visited me everyday since I woke up. Superman (the first speaker) was downright disturbed by me, I could tell, because I had been here as long as he had and he had never known. Whenever I looked at him, he would shift uncomfortably, and he would never hold eye contact with me for more than 10 seconds. J'onn had had been very kind to me since, explaining many of the strange things about Earth, because even to him Earth was behind technologically, and he had 'been in my shoes' a few years ago. Flash (the fourth speaker) was very nice, and was the youngest core member. He seemed to be trying to make me feel welcome, which I appreciated. Batman was okay, although I think he was suspicious of me, since I had been with Cadmus, and the League had an uneasy alliance with the organization, starting out as enemies. Flash said he probably thought I was some sort of spy, although I was not sure if he was being serious about it. However, J'onn assured me that I had nothing to worry about, and he told me telepathically that 'the Bat' had a soft spot for orphans. Green Lantern (the third speaker) did not really acknowledge me, because he thought I was a dumb kid, a dumb kid who had just lost everything, leaving him uncertain about talking to me and saying the wrong thing, according to Flash. Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl, that is, Diana and Shayera (who had been the woman I heard speak that first day), were both very nice to me, and they offered to help me learn how to use some of my powers, because they had both picked up on Superman's attitude.

My powers were already kicking in. The sounds of the Javelin were almost unbearable, and I was close to clapping my hands over my ears from it all. The sights, though, were amazing, everything was brighter and clearer than before, giving everything I saw a surreal appearance, the way colors are so vivid in dreams. I had recuperated quickly from the surgery, and I did not have to worry about my body rejecting the liver, because on Earth, I never had to worry about my health again, making me the perfect specimen. The jaundice from my eyes had disappeared already, as had the slight yellow tinge to my skin, which I had hidden so well beneath my tan. My hands had lost the reddish tinge. I no longer coughed. I still had to gain back a lot of weight, since I had lost over 10 pounds. My skin wasn't itching anymore. I was not bruising so easily now, which was caused by invulnerability. I already knew I was strong, though I was told I would get stronger.

We were headed to Metro Tower, the headquarters of the Justice League, in Metropolis. I shifted a bit, crossing and uncrossing my legs. Superman noticed this.

"We should be there soon." he told me.

I nodded, allowing my eyes to wander to the symbol on his chest, which always made me feel a little better. Superman noticed this, and shifted, crossing his arms over his chest. I almost smiled at that. He probably thought I was 'checking him out.' It made me wonder if he even knew what the symbol meant.

"Superman." I said, drawing his attention back to me.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Do you know exactly what the symbol on your chest means?" I asked.

"I don't know if means anything at all. It was assumed that it was an 'S'." Superman replied, looking surprised.

I nearly groaned. Rao, the man knew absolutely nothing about his heritage! I tried something else.

"You came to Earth as an infant, so do you know what your name was on Krypton?" I asked, though I don't know why, he probably didn't even know that.

"My name was Kal-El."

It was like a punch to the stomach. His words echoed through my mind. Kal-El. Kal-El. Kal-El. Kal-El. Kal-El. Kal-El. No, it could not be.

"Huh, Kal-El and Lor-El. The 'El' thing must have been popular at the time." Flash joked.

Kal-El smiled weakly. "Maybe, my father's name was Jor-El." he said.

It was not a punch to the stomach this time. This time it was like being run through with a blade.

"But the few Kryptonian women I know about don't have names like that, I mean, Kara, Lara, and Mala, those are few I know." Superman said, relaxing.

The name Kara meant nothing, but Lara and Mala each drove another blade through me.

"Mala?" I asked, keeping my voice steady.

"Yes, she was second in command to General Jax-Ur. They attempted a political overthrow." Superman explained.

Jax-Ur was another blade.

"Yes, I've heard of them. I was 15 when it happened." I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking, feeling the old bitterness rise up like bile in my throat, temporarily distracting me from inner turmoil. "They were banished to the Phantom Zone."

"Well, I'm afraid I let Mala out, because I thought she may have just been following orders. It turns out I was wrong." Superman admitted, not looking directly at me. "She let Jax-Ur out and they nearly succeeded in taking over the world."

"Why did the Justice League not help?" I asked, confused. Another distraction.

"The Justice League hadn't been established then, this was over 4 years ago." Batman said from the pilot's seat.

I nodded stiffly. I was about to return to staring at the clouds, to make sense of what I had just learned, until I felt a pair of eyes on me. I turned to see J'onn staring at me, looking shocked. Oh Rao, he had read my mind!

My heartbeat sped up, I struggled to keep my breathing regular, and I tightened my grip on the box in my lap. I met his gaze, hoping he would see the panic and desperation I felt. _Please, please, say nothing!_ I screamed mentally.

He glanced at Kal-El, who was no longer paying attention to me, and was chatting with with Wonder Woman. Green Lantern was apparently having a one-sided conversation with Batman. Shayera and Flash were also talking about fire, and Flash seemed quite flustered about this.

He met my eyes, and I felt his reluctant acceptance. He would not tell any of them. My secret was safe.

* * *

Yay, I got it! Now you are probably wondering what Lor-El's secret is, but you won't find out for a while. You are also probably wondering where the Titans are, but they won't show up for a couple more chapters, because this will primarily be about the League and Lor. Please review!


	3. Failure to Thrive

Hi, sorry that it's been so long, but I'm working on several other fics, and I've had a lot of stuff going on, so sorry again, and please be patient. I own nothing, please enjoy.

P.S: Red Dragon210, CHECK YOUR STINKIN' E-MAIL!

* * *

I had only just arrive at the Justice League headquarters, and so far I hated it. I had believed the flight here was awful, but no words could describe the roaring that assaulted my ears within this wretched city. Truly, Metropolis and the Metro Tower were sights to behold, but there was no reprieve from the neverending sounds of alarms, screams, horns, animals, and millions of other noises that I could not even begin to describe.

If the sound weren't enough, then it was the stares. They stared at me both distcreetly and obviously, but it was all the same. Some looked curious, some nervous, some suspicious, and others, a few of the younger men, looked on lecherously. Dozens of people, dressed in brightly colored clothes were all staring at me. They wore masks, boots, goggles, weapons, capes, cloaks. The women's costumes were alluring and strange to behold. The men's were also quite attractive, and, as my my old friend Myand'r would have said, left little to the imagination.

Odd, I had not thought of Myand'r, nor had I thought of Luand'r or Galfore. I wondered how they had been. Perhaps there was some way for me to contact them, and maybe I would be able to go to Tamaran? No, Tamaran's monarchs had no reason to pay attention to a teenaged girl that they had met 30 years ago. But I would try to find out how they were. From what J'onn had told me, there were several aliens in the League and others in the Teen Titans.

"Before you can get settled, we'd like to give a physical first, if you don't mind." J'onn said suddenly.

I did not know why I would need a physical, Cadmus had also preformed one, but I had no reason to object, so I merely nodded my compliance.

I glanced around again, taking note of several individual heroes. One that stuck out had no face. He had black hair, and he wore a blue trench coat and hat. I could only guess that he was looking at me, for his head was turned in my direction, just like his companions. One was a woman dark hair, who was wearing a mask that, in my opinion, did little to hide her face. She wore a great deal of purple, with a long cape. Judging by how closely she sat with the faceless man, I would say that they shared an intimate relationship. Another was also wearing a mask that also did little to hide his identity. He was dressed in green with a triangular looking hat, and a quiver full of arrows on his back. He had an interesting looking beard, which would likely make it easier to find his secret identity. Next to him was an attractive blond woman who wore a dark blue jacket over a black suit that was very similar to Diana's, with tights and black boots.

I was led to another hospital room. In it was a mirror, and I saw what I usually saw. I saw an athletic young woman with dark, stormy blue eyes, and straight black hair which ended just above the backs of my knees. But I saw other things, ones that were unusual for me; my normally tan skin instead held a palor, there were shadows under my eyes, though they were almost unnoticeable.

I was told to change into one of the hospital dresses, which I promptly began to do so, before the adults (Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Shayera, and Flash, Batman and J'onn would remain) left the room. They were shocked when I took off my shirt, which caused my hair to be pulled away from my back.

"You've got tattoos?" Flash gasped, his voice a mixture of disbelief, awe, and envy.

"Fantastic. Now he'll never shut up about this." I heard Green Lantern groan.

I felt a flutter of amusement, but it quickly vanished.

After they continued to stare interestedly, excluding Superman, who seemed vaguely uncomfortable, J'onn, who seemed more amused by his companions reactions, and Batman, who did not seem to care, I coughed slightly. "Ahem." They all took on sheepish expressions, and excused themselves.

I had to admit, a part of me was pleased at how impressed they had been with my tattoo. I had gotten my first tattoo for my 16th birthday, because, as my mother and I had told my father, I had needed a little 'hope,' which explained the tattoo on the back of my neck, which had gone unseen by the adults. They had only noticed the much larger tattoo that had had recieved for my 17th birthday, during my religious symbolism phase. On my back was a pair of beautiful wings, which were 'attached' between my shoulder blades, and went down so that they ended at the small of my back. They were mostly scarlet colored, but the feathers were tipped in either orange, yellow, or glittering gold ink. Thara, the tattoo artist that I had always gone to, had told me outright, when my mother and I had brought her the design, that it was one of the best she had ever done, and Thara had never been one to suck up to her customers. She had never told them when she disliked the design they had, or when the design itself was bad, she would simply say that it was not bad.

The physical was like any other. Height, weight, reflexes, etc. Just as I was about to leave, though, J'onn stopped me.

"Lor-El, could you please pull out a few strands of hair? That way we will have your DNA on file." J'onn said casually.

I complied. I could tell what the Martian Manhunter was planning. He was hoping that someone would notice my DNA, to subtly give away my secret. Very clever, J'onn Jonzz.

* * *

I sat on the floor next to the bed, staring at the box in front of me. After the physical, I had been taken to this room for my use. The room held a king-sized bed, a desk, an empty bookshelf, a bathroom which I had paid little attention to, and little else. I had closed the door, and was now sitting on the side of the bed that left me hidden from any who looked inside the room I had not turned on the light, leaving me the illumination of the drawn blinds just above me.

The box was about two feet long, and one foot high. It was cold and metal, and locking it shut was a DNA lock. I disinterestedly noticed the smears and scratches on the lock, as well as some scratches the lid and hinges. Apparently Cadmus was interested in what had been inside. Perhaps a manual on "How to Conquer a Planet Now That You Possess Powers"? Heh, it may be, for I did not know either.

I pressed my thumb against the tiny panel, which flashed green, and with a soft beep, followed by an equally soft click, the lid popped open.

Inside were some of my most prized possessions. A few lumps of gold from the Golden Volcano, as well as a few brightly colored jewels from the Jewel Mountains, souvenirs from working vacations with my parents. My favorite dress, a form fitting, dark red number that bared my shoulders and showed some of my cleavage. My mother's favorite necklace, a teardrop shaped ruby the size of my thumbnail on a golden chain.

A picture screen, which, I found, contained hundreds of pictures. I saw a picture of Atomic town, Fire Falls, Fort Rozz, Argo City, and the Scarlet Jungle. My family had loved to travel and go on vacations, whether they were working vacations, as it had been with the Volcano and the Mountains, learning at the Hall of Worlds, or relaxation when we spent time on the shores of the Great Kryptonian Sea.

I saw the picture of Luand'r, Myand'r, Galfore and myself, when I was 15. We were sitting in a booth at a local restaurant in Kryptonopolis. I sat between Luand'r and Galfore. Galfore was shorter then me, by at least 4 inches, and had shaggy red/violet that fell in his bright green eyes, although he was still wearing his black and dark purple clothes, which was often worn for formal occasions, or, in Galfore's case, by Tamaran's military. But despite his serious job, being bodyguard and best friend to Prince Myand'r and his girlfriend/betrothed, Luand'r, he still wore a sweet smile on his face. Luand'r was the same height as me, with a similar hairstyle, although hers was much shorter. She wore the bright purple garments that Tamaraneans so preferred. She had been cheery and optimistic. After the betrayal of Mala, her kindness and friendship had meant so much to me. I hope that she hadn't changed in all these years. People needed rulers like her. Myand'r sat on the other side of Luand'r. He was a few inches taller than me, and he grinned teasingly out of the image. He also wore more casual clothes, and had forgone the crown he usually wore. Myand'r, despite the future he faced, had always tried to enjoy life as much as he could without shirking his responsiblities.

I realized with some surprise that I now had something in common with my Tamaranean friends. We all fueled our powers from solar energy! But were my powers also activated by emotions? Would my powers increase if I wore more revealing clothes to absorb more solar energy, just as many Tamaraneans did? I knew that on Tamaran it was common for the people to wear, ah, less clothing than on other planets. In fact, in the picture with my friends, they wore more conservative clothing, in order to avoid offending anyone. If I avoided the sun entirely, would my powers vanish, would they slowly weaken until there was nothing left? Could I survive without the sun? Would I weaken and die from lack of exposure, like a plant denied sunlight?

I felt the sharp pain of a headache coming from, as my mother had put it, thinking too hard. While I was an artist at heart, like my mother, I had a tendency to over analyze situations, like my father. I grimaced, for I now had a full blown headache. I placed my possessions back in the box, and moved it under my bed. I would look closer at them later. For now, all I wanted to do was sleep.

* * *

**1 WEEK LATER**

I gazed down at the picture that I had drawn in front of me. It had cost me aproximately 40 pieces of paper, four pens, and three pencils to do it. I had been working on it for the past two days, my hands were stained with the ink and lead from the pens and pencils that I had crushed by accident. My wastebasket was overflowing with all the paper that I had ruined, whether it had burnt up under my gaze, been stained with ink, or smeared with lead.

The drawing was of Green Arrow and Black Canary, also known as, from what I had heard from my room, Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance. She leaned back against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest, an amused smile on her face as she gazed up at the taller man. He had his hand planted against the wall, diagonal from Black Canary's head, leaning forward somewhat, a teasing smile on his face.

I rose from my desk and began to rub my arms with my hands. I was dressed in a baggy grey sweatshirt and sweatpants, and despite my attire, I could not force the chill to leave my skin. From that first day that I had awoken on Earth until now, a cold seemed to grow inside of me, finally reaching my skin, leaving me in a state of being constantly chilled.

I had not left this room either in the past seven days. It seemed that I truly did not need food to survive, although I did drink water from the faucet in my bathroom. I felt no hunger, but I had lost more weight it seemed in the past week. If this continued on, then, in another week, I supposed, I would be able to see my ribs.

Another thing that I needed little of was sleep. Like many large cities, this city was never silent, making sleeping a very difficult thing to do, and giving me an erratic pattern. I had been able to sleep for up to two hours at a time, so far, making the shadows under my eyes more pronounced.

I was considering trying to sleep, but suddenly the walls surrounding me began to fade, causing me to sigh. My x-ray vision was beginning to act up again. This was how I had seen many of the things in the Metro Tower, a result of uncontrollable power. I glanced around, wondering who I should watch this time. Last time I had watched the Question go through peoples garbage for 45 minutes, and several people had given him strange looks for it, while others had shrugged it off, leading me to believe this was 'normal' behavior. It had been somewhat amusing.

My eyes settled pm Batman, who was pouring over a number of papers in the medical ward. His eyes were wider than normal. Flash walked into the room, slurping some sort of brownish beverage through a straw. He walked up behind Batman in order to lean over his shoulder.

"Whatcha got there?" Flash asked, an ever-present smile on his face.

"Lor-El's DNA charts." Batman said flatly.

"What about the other one? Whose is that?"

"Superman's. Take a look." Batman handed the charts to Flash, whose eyes grew large before choking on his drink.

"Does he know?" Flash demanded.

"No."

"Does she?"

"Most likely, and I would assume J'onn does as well. The DNA sample was his idea."

"How are we gonna tell Supes?"

"If Lor-El does know about this, then it's up to her to tell him." Flash started to object. "This is something those two have to work out, it doesn't concern us."

Flash frowned and continued to argue with Batman. The walls began to reappear, blocking my view, but I could still hear them. I tuned them out and lay down on my bed. So, now two more knew my secret.

I was grateful, once again, for Batman. He had shown me a great deal of kindness in the past week. Nothing remotely obvious, all very subtle. The others who had promised to help me had too much to do and not enough time, it seemed. In the bathroom were steel razors, scissors, combs, nail files, nail clippers, and other things I would need. I had found them with a note from Batman, stating that I would need them, given my new, harder body. He had supplied a laptop for me to work with, although I used very little, as I would rather avoid breaking it. I had also found a number of textbooks concerning Earth, ranging from science and technology, to history books (which I found infinitely more interesting than the science textbook). I had considered the religious wars that Earth waged to be foolish, but, then again, Krypton had had only one religion, really, and so few were truly religious.

I rolled over on my bed, pressing my face against blankets, keeping my eyes open as, for the second time today, what was in front of me faded away.

What I saw below me was a meeting, consisting of the seven 'Founding Members' or 'The Original Seven,' as they were called. Kal looked to be on edge, even if her did seem to be outwardly confident. Batman looked as serious and 'grumpy' as ever. Wonder Woman seemed calm and elegant, showing no signs of frustration. Flash appeared to be upset about something, most likely with his recent discovery of my heritage. J'onn appeared to be calm, his face expressionless, but he looked almost...was that disappointment in his eyes? Disappointment that his plan to expose the truth about me had failed, no doubt. Shayera looked a bit bored, and she kept glancing over at the Green Lantern, who looked drawn and uncomfortable.

Ah, a new development in the love triangle between Vixen, himself, and Shayera. It was quite well known here, where gossip spread like wildfire. If I listened carefully, I could hear three entirely different conversations between three groups of entirely different people, and they would all mention the exact same thing. It seemed that, in the early days of the League, back when it was only the seven, John and Shayera had been lovers, but when Thanagar invaded, it was discovered that Shayera had been promised to another man. And when the invasion had been foiled, and Earth mistrusted and despised her, the two had ended their relationship. Lantern had begun a relationship with a heroine named Vixen, and while it seemed to be a good one, Lantern had been confronted with evidence that he and Shayera may reconcile and have a son in the future, causing some frustration for Mr. Stewart, especially when he found the need to inform Shayera of this, even if he could have caused a time paradox by doing so. This had renewed Shayera's attempts to win John back.

"In case you're wondering what this meeting is about, it concerns Lor-El." Batman said flatly, skewering Kal-El with his harsh gaze, causing the Man of Steel to squirm under the scrutiny.

Flash looked like he was about to say something, but a look from Batman silenced him.

"She can't control her powers, because nobody has bothered to try to teach her. She hasn't left her room since she arrived, leading me to also believe that she hasn't eaten. She's failing to thrive here." Batman continued on mercilessly.

"She's still mourning, do you want me to train her when she's supposed to be grieving?" Superman argued.

"Yes, but it doesn't help that she's shutting herself up. Even for a Kryptonian, it's not healthy."

"You're one to talk." Kal snorted.

I had to agree, it was too true, from what little I knew of Batman, he was famous in the League for his secrecy and his preference for solitude. Well, that and his territorial attitude.

"I've called in some outside help, people who may be able to give her the help she needs." Batman continued, ignoring that last statement.

'Outside help'? Dear Rao, were they going to institutionalize me?

Suddenly, a man- no, not really a man, he was hardly older than myself- entered the conference room. He had black hair that reached past his chin, his skin was tan, he had a lean figure, he wore a black mask, and a black and blue suit. At the same time there was a knock at my door.

Went to the door, wondering who it coud be, since everything around me had gone solid again. I cautiously opened, and was greeted by the sight of several people, teenagers who seemed to be my age. One was a young, fanged man with green eyes, hair, and skin, along with a friendly smile. Another was a bored girl who wore a dark blue cloak. A cyborg of African-American descent who exuded a- for lack of better word- elder brotherly feeling, similar to Dev-Em. But the one who caught my eye was a tall Tamaranean girl with a huge, infectious smile.

"Greetings, friend, I am Starfire, of Tamaran." said the smiling girl.

So these people were the Teen Titans. Huh.

* * *

Yay! I have finally brought in the Titans! Please, please, please, review!


	4. Training

Hi. I own nothing, please enjoy.

* * *

I had to admit, watching the League and the Titans interact was very interesting. Not to mention informative.

It seemed that Nightwing, the man in the black and blue costume, used to be Batman's protegé, the first and former Robin, a name now used by a young boy in Gotham City. He was the only member of 'Titans West,' with direct connections to the Justice League. I was shocked that his name was Nightwing, he probably did not know about his name's Kryptonian origins. Apparently he was not only the leader of the western branch of the the Teen Titans, but he was the leader of all the branches. It was clear why, he was very mature, seemed very intelligent and was not at all impressed by the the Seven, who he treated as equals if anything.

Starfire, as her name apparently translated on Earth, was obviously a Tamaranean, her golden skin, pure green eyes and violet-red hair enough proof of that. She was constantly hovering a couple of inches off of the ground, proving that she was truly happy with her surroundings. When she spoke, the adults would reward with at worst incredulous, and at best humoring, looks. The fools did not take her seriously. I wondered if any of them had seen Starfire in battle, as Tamaraneans were famous for their battle prowess. She seemed very nice, or perhaps friendly was the appropriate term? She kept an arm around my shoulders the entire time.

The green one, Beast Boy, would often crack jokes that nobody understood, causing the League to give him blank looks, while the Titans seemed accustomed to it. He seemed to be trying to impress the dark girl, Raven, whose lips would twitch at his antics, although she would often roll her eyes. Every twitch of those gray lips only seemed to encourage Beast Boy. He also spent a good deal of time trying to, I believe, make me laugh as well. While I appreciated the gesture, I could not understand his humor, leaving his attempts in vain.

Cyborg was very friendly, like Beast Boy, though he did not make (or try to make) ridiculous jokes. He had a warm, brotherly vibe, reminding me of Dev-Em, although with darker skin and lacking Dev-Em's criminal record. I wonder how he came to be a cyborg. Was it something he had done voluntarily? Was he in an accident? He seemed to respect the League members but he did not seem overly impressed with their rather irritating attitudes, in fact, his eye seemed to have developed a twitch out of annoyance. Not that I could blame him, the Seven treated the Titans as if they were several years younger than they actually were.

Then there was Raven, she, along with Beast Boy, being the same age as I (although, biologically speaking, I should be about 45 years old, much older than all of the Titans). She did not seemed to be as skilled at hiding her annoyance as Cyborg was, but perhaps that was just her personality. Black energy crackled around her narrowed eyes and clenched fingers. I hoped we left soon, or Raven would be facing multiple assault and/or murder charges. Dear Rao, I would probably help.

As much as I hated to admit it, Kal-El was the worst of them. He would get this strange smile on his face, as if he were amused. He did not take them seriously. It was very irritating. But I am not sure whether it was his condescending attitude or the fact that he did not even treat _me_ with that. I was practically invisible to him, or at least, that was how he treated me.

Wonder Woman was much more cordial. She was respectful of the Titans, understanding that they were also heroes, but she did also seem to see that they were younger, and, automatically, 'inexperienced.'

Green Lantern seemed skeptical of them, to say the least, as was Shayera. They seemed a bit uncertain of sending me with them. It would seem that they did not believe them capable of taking care of themselves, much less me.

Flash was the best, honestly. He acted a lot like Beast Boy, except older, of course. He treated them the same as he treated everyone else. It was refreshing. Ah, wait, there it is, that patronizing tone used for children, amused by their antics.

J'onn also treated them as children, quite like Kal. I had thought he was more intelligent than that. It seems I am not the best judge of character.

Then there was Batman, who kept ordering them to 'do this,' 'do that,' 'not this,' 'not that.' Oh dear, Nightwing's heart beat was speeding up, and his fists were clenching and unclenching. I wondered if he was going to punch his mentor. I hoped not, it would be unfortunate if it led to a fight. But it was rude. I had not heard anything about the Titans being affiliated with the League, so why would Batman give orders?

I was quite relieved when the Titans led me to the T-Ship, a bright orange vehicle, which, in my eyes was impressive, if not conducive to stealth. It seemed that all of the Titans took part in the operation of the machine. Starfire pulled me towards what I suppose was a cabin for me to stay in during the flight. The cabin was right next to the engines. I would get very little rest during this trip.

"I could help you," someone said very close to my ear, "If you wanted."

Startled, I jerked my head towards the voice. It was Raven, who was staring at me apathetically.

"What do you mean?" I asked, wary.

"The trip from here to Jump City is about five hours. I can knock you out with my powers for a while, and you can get more than two hours of sleep."

"How did you-?" How had she known _that_?

Raven shrugged. "I can sense things. So, is that a yes or a no?"

"Please." I whispered. And my world went black as she raised her hand to cover my eyes.

* * *

It was so cold. I was inside what appeared to be an icy cavern. My body, both hair and skin, was covered in frost. I shook violently from the freezing temperatures. Oh, Rao, what I would not give for just a little warmth...And then the world was consumed by fire. The ice was gone, replaced by walls of fire, burning me, and when I tried to cry out, all that could be heard was the screeching of a bird...

* * *

My eyes snapped open. I saw only a black ceiling illuminated by yellow sunlight that shone from the glass wall/window to my right. I sat up, kicking aside the white sheets that covered my body. Laying in the sun, under sheets and still in the sweats and sweatshirt from whenever I had left the Metro Tower, it was no wonder I had dreamed that I was burning. I wandered to the window and saw the city, Jump City, in front of me. It was smaller, and less noisy than Metropolis, but it was filled with large skyscraper's, as well as an extravagant bridge. It was beautiful.

I heard sizzling noise, which I could only associate with cooking food. Despite my lack of need for food, I certainly missed it. Leaving the room, I followed the sound of cooking, as well as the sound of everything else in the tower. Everyone must have been there.

As I entered through the double doors, I could hear 'rock' being played loudly, as well as three voices arguing. Or, rather, two voices- Beast Boy and Cyborg- arguing, with Starfire acting as mediator. In the adjoining sitting room, Nightwing listened to rock music on one side of the semi-circle couch, and Raven sat on the other side, only her eyes visible over the thick tome that she was engrossed in. Raven glanced up at me briefly before returning to the book.

"Dude, Kryptonians were super advanced, they had to get how nasty meat is! She'll totally want some tofu!" Beast Boy cried as he bit down onto Cyborg's robotic arm. I had a feeling that that was hurting Beast Boy more than it hurt Cyborg.

"Correction, if they were so advanced, they understood that _tofu_ is what's nasty! She's a real woman, she should eat real meat!" Cyborg yelled back, pulling and stretching Beast Boy's legs in an attempt to remove the green boy.

"Perhaps, now that friend Lor-El has been has been awakened by the Battle of Breakfast, she will enlighten us to her preference?" Starfire half questioned as she gave me a pleading look.

This brought everyone's attention that I was standing in the doorway.

"What, exactly, is tofu?" I asked, uncertain if I wanted it.

"Only the greatest-"

"The nastiest-"

"It's fake meat."

Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven said all of these things at the same time, but only Raven's statement filtered into my mind. _Fake meat._ I was suddenly very glad that I had not had a meal in so long, otherwise I am sure I would have been sick. It seemed that Cyborg noticed my expression, because her punched the air triumphantly, before wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"See, Grass Stain? Told you she'd hate that nasty stuff you call food! She was starting to look like she could be related to you." Cyborg laughed, leading me to a chair and seating me before sliding a plate of crispy meat strips and soft looking yellow stuff in front of me.

"We had false meat on Krypton as well. It was bland and tasteless." I informed him. "I am omnivorous, but any form of false meat is not included in my diet." I picked up the fork gently, careful not to crush it, before, with equal care, I impaled some of the yellow stuff with it. It was delicious. "What is this?" I asked.

"Scrambled eggs and bacon, both meat products, not a vegetarian thing about them." Cyborg proudly informed me.

That was all I needed to hear. Even if I did not require food, it felt good to eat again. And I was always a lover of meat.

When I finished I found myself gazing at Starfire, who was consoling Beast Boy over the fact that I would not eat tofu. I recalled what I had planned to ask her.

"Starfire? You are a Tamaranean, correct?" I asked anxiously.

"Yes, friend Lor-El, I am." she replied, smiling sweetly at me.

"Could you...tell me of the current royal family?"

The Titan's all looked at me in surprised curiosity.

Starfire smiled kindly at me before raising her fisted hand, which was promptly enveloped in a bright green starbolt. "I am Koriand'r, second born of the late Myand'r and Luand'r, Princess of Tamaran." Her tone was formal, and she displayed a level of regality that I would not have believed her capable of. But dear Rao, she was Luand'r and Myand'r's daughter. And she referred to them as _late. Oh Rao, no._ How could I have missed the similarities, especially when Starfire was so much like her mother? How could my friends be dead as well?

"Friend Lor-El? You seem upset, is all well?" Starfire asked, approaching me.

I could feel burning tears on my cheeks. I took a deep, trembling breath before answering. "I do not know if you have ever heard of me before, but I knew your parents. They were my friends."

Starfire gasped before embracing me in what I am sure would have broken the bones of a human, but to me felt pleasant. "YES! YES! YOU ARE THE GIRLFRIEND OF GALFORE WITH WHOM HE ASSIMILATED KRYPTONESE!" she shrieked. That was incredibly painful.

"Wait...you and Galfore dated?" Beast-Boy paused for a moment before shouting out, "EEEEWWW!"

I felt my face flush. "Galfore and I were never romantically involved." I told the Titans, who had all stared at me in disbelief. "He was the first boy I kissed, but not beyond that."

"Oh, well that's a bit better...but, still, _eeeeww." _Beast-Boy stuck his tongue out.

I chuckled softly before I realized what they had said. "Galfore is still alive?" I stared up at Starfire, desperate that at least _one _of my friends had survived.

"Yes, he is now the Grand Ruler of Tamaran in my absence, as Blackfire is still in prison, and my brother is too young." Starfire explained, smiling down at me. "He raised myself and my siblings after my parents deaths at the hands of the Gordanians."

"I am sorry." I said quietly.

Starfire smiled and nodded.

* * *

The Titans, with the exception of Starfire, quickly shortened my name to 'Lor.' Immediately after I had been fed, I was pulled into a gym, filled with excercise equipment specifically for the use of meta humans.

"Okay, Lor, Superman made a statement a while back about living in a world of cardboard, because of how fragile everything is to him." Nightwing explained. He picked up a weight and rotated it in his hands a few times before returning his attention to me. "You see how I'm handling this? Good, I want you to do the same thing. But first, think about the most fragile thing you can think of, and pretend that that's what this weight is. I want you to be able to handle this without damaging it. The sooner you learn to control your strength, the faster you'll adapt to Earth."

It took approximately an hour of me holding the weight for me to stop putting dents into it. It took another hour for me to be able to reshape the weights into what they were supposed to be.

The next two weeks compromised of me learning to manage my strength. The lessons were simple enough at first, since I just used excercise equipment. I would be left alone for sporadic periods of time due to the Titan's responsibilities to Jump City. But soon my lessons became more difficult, as I had to handle day to day objects, such as bottles, food, handles, electronics, and dishes. It seems that Jump City was all too eager to help their resident superheroes, that they allowed me to use certain areas in the city limits for me to practice in. They took me to the 'train yard' one day and had me pull freights around. My final exams had me go out into the city, where I would come into physical, but casual contact with humans, my goal being to finish the errands and not cause any damage. I passed, nobody I bumped into developed so much as a bruise.

I spent another week doing 'independent studies.' I discovered it was fairly easy to control my breaths, visions, and hearing. If I widened my eyes, tensing the muscles surrounding my lids, I could activate my heat vision, for example. It was all a matter of flexing the appropriate muscles and concentration.

Once I learned how to control my more unique powers, I was introduced to Kid Flash, possibly the most irritating, gluttonous, flirtatious, impatient and _impulsive _person I had ever met in my life. He was to be my 'speed instructor.' He would bundle himself up and more or less drag me to the coldest and most desolate regions on Earth, and he'd have me run from one coast to the other. Just as all of my other lessons had gone, the challenges became harder; running across water, deserts, thick forests, eventually escalating into densely populated areas. Once again the goal being to avoid running into anyone or anything. Kid Flash was a good teacher, despite his 'character flaws.' He had the same personality as his mentor, Flash, who, apparently, he did not get along with very well. To similar to get along, apparently.

Flight was one of the most common of superpowers, apparently, because I had a myriad of instructors to choose from. I chose Starfire and Raven. Their idea of teaching however, consisted of dropping me from great heights into Jump City bay, leaving me to fly or swim. I always swam.

"Could we please take a break?" I asked after two hours of being thrown into the bay, leaving me completely drenched.

"Nope." Raven stated, a slight smirk playing about her lips, before she and Starfire dropped me.

I decided not to surface just yet. An interesting biological fact about Kryptonians under a yellow sun was that we could go impressive amounts of time without breathing. After approximately two minutes of waiting, both of the girls flew down to find me. I bobbed to the surface, reached out and pulled them into the water. Sputtering and spitting, the now drenched girls rose to the surface. Their expressions were so startled that I could not help but burst out laughing at them. It took them holding me underwater to get me to shut up, as well as death threats to the three gentlemen who were sitting on lawn chairs on the beach and laughing their heads off at us.

One last time, the two flew me high, and just moments before I was about to hit the water, I stopped. I could not have been more than a foot above the surface, given that most of my hair was floating in the water. I could hear the boys cheering wildly from the shore. Oh, this was uncomfortable, just hanging upside down in thin air. I reared back until I was upright, before flying up towards Raven, who wore a smile of satisfaction, and Starfire, who wore a brilliant smile, her eyes shining with joy. It was so easy, exhilirating, and _fun,_ it was no wonder all those who could fly loved to do it at every chance.

Of course, this also meant only one thing: my training was complete.

* * *

Wow, this took me so long, it's not even funny. To you few who are fans of this story, I thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoyed enough to review.


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